( … R&R please…)

Tears always flowing

Jesper Martinez cried. It was a very dark day, although it was only four o’clock, probably because it had been raining. The falling water soaked Jesper from his red-streaked, dark brown hair to the soles of his black, three inch-heeled, leather knee high boots. He had been crying since he left school. He always cried, never knowing why and never infront of anyone; only when alone. It was Thursday and everyone had taken the bus or gotten a ride. That’s why he walked…Jesper needed to cry. He placed the earphones to his cd player on his head as he put on Kill Hannah, Stunt Pilots. I thought I kicked the habit that supposedly soothed me…this crying shit is fucking addictive…He thought.

He shoved his hands into the pockets of his black, soaked, skin-tight dickies. Jesper thought about buttoning up his thirty-year-old, black peacoat but it was pointless for his dark purple Happy Bunny tshirt was already dripping with water from rain and tears.

The need for tears as a tranquilizer started about a month ago. A month prior to ninth grade, Jesper had taken a qualification test for the AP courses at his school. The results came a week later:

Dear Jesper Andre Rosati-Martinez,

The School Board would like to inform you that you have qualified to take AP math and the tenth grade level grammar, literature, history and Spanish. Congratulations on scoring so well. Enclosed is a list of items needed for your courses.

Graciously,
Vice-Principal Alicia Moralize

Jesper had been ecstatic when he had gotten the letter because she hated everyone that he thought would be freshman with him. Not that he didn’t hate the sophomores; just a smaller amount of them knew him. He was excited to tell his parents, whom were constantly making him look like a worthless punk when his twin sister, Adrienne, was the golden child. In reality, all Adrienne ever was fuck guys and join the cheerleading squad while Jesper was in the Honor Society, Drama, and captain of two sports team, but that’s another story.

When Jesper went to tell his parents the news, they would not stop smiling and giggling with Adrienne’s new boyfriend enough to hear him out. Frustrated, Jesper called his only friend but the person who answered the phone wasn’t Julia…it was their supposed archenemy Carmela. She had been spreading rumors about Julia and Jesper since middle school. Jesper didn’t need any more convincing everyone that had abandoned him. He locked herself in her room that night and cried for hours.